Gryphon rides gold boom for $45m raising

Gryphon Minerals
has taken advantage of a spike in interest in West African gold to raise $45.2 million for its exploration projects in Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

The placement of 36.1 million shares, priced at $1.25, will be made to new and existing institutional investors from North America, Europe and Australia.

Gryphon will also initiate a share purchase plan, open to all eligible shareholders, to raise up to $3 million.

The funds will be used to speed up exploration and studies at the company’s flagship Banfora gold project in Burkina Faso, and its newly bought Tijirit gold project in Mauritania, next to Kinross Gold’s world-class Tasiast mine.

Perth’s Euroz Securities and Paradigm Capital acted as joint lead managers on the placement.